The kitchen was abuzz with activity. Dinner was in a few minutes and everyone was rushing to get done last minute preparations. Phoebe had just filled her pitcher up with wine and was attempting to lift it when Jarl ran over and grabbed her arm. She jostled the pitcher, but managed to keep it from spilling.

"What are you doing?! I almost spilled it!" She hissed at him. "Go grab your plate!"

He ignored her anger, a wide grin on his face. "Have you ever been to the gardens?"

She gave him a weird look, lifting the pitcher from the table a second time. "No. Why? And you should really grab your plate before you get yelled at."

"Because I've been told that it's the most beautiful place in the entire realm. Queen Frigga personally oversees their care." He stared at her, completely overjoyed. The grin stayed plastered on his face. "I was going to take you tonight."

Phoebe blinked rapidly for a few seconds before looking down at her shoes, a blush creeping up on her face. "Aww Jarl. Thank you. That means a lot to me."

He leaned on the table behind her. "Thanks. I try. I'll find you after dinner and we'll head over."

Phoebe hugged the pitcher closer to herself and nodded.

"Okay, good." He breathed. The two stared at each other for a few seconds before one of the cooks yelled loudly and Jarl ran to where his plate sat on a table. Phoebe giggled, then stepped over to where the other serving maids were standing, waiting to leave. After a few seconds, they were ushered out into the dining hall.

Phoebe walked right over to Thor, who already had his cup up in anticipation. She filled it quickly, scanned the table for other empty cups, then stepped back. Jarl strode past her, an air of professionalism now over him. He deposited his tray a little way down the table and retreated back to the kitchens. Volstagg waved Phoebe over and she stepped forward and filled his cup.

"Phoebe." A cool voice from her left addressed her. She turned to see Loki looking at her, his expression thoughtful. His finger circled the rim of his own cup. "May I talk to you for a minute?"

Phoebe stepped tentatively closer to him. They hadn't had an actual conversation since she'd gotten here. "Yes, your highness?"

"I was intrigued by your predicament, specifically the part about Daleks and Cybermen. The only record of Daleks says that they all died in the Time War with the Time Lords. And I haven't found any record of Cybermen. It all seems rather strange and I was wondering if you could shed some light on it?" His eyes weren't tinged with mischief, as they usually were. It might be possible that he was just genuinely interested in it all. Hell, so was she.

"I'm sorry. I don't know anything. They just came from the sky and all around. We had thought the Cybermen were ghosts at first . . . " She trailed off, realizing her sentence wasn't answering his question. The eyes of the nearby royal family and high nobles were on her. She swallowed and focused on Loki. "I don't know anything. The man who had saved me from the Cybermen seemed like he knew what was going on, but I'm afraid I'm just a clueless girl who got sucked through time and space."

Loki's eyes traveled from her face to the floor, disappointment written all over his face. "Well maybe this man can shed some light on things. What was his name?" His eyes returned to her face and his eyebrow raised.

"Ummm I believe he called himself the Doctor. Past that, I'm afraid I don't know." Phoebe stared at her shoes as her face went red with embarrassment. She hadn't realized exactly how little she knew until now. She was completely useless. Why were they keeping her again?

"I see." His gaze turned to his cup, his fingers still playing with the rim of it. He picked up it and inspected its contents. "Perhaps later we can have a more in-depth discussion about your experience?" His gaze returned to her anxious face. "It all intrigues me, really. I'd like to find out as much as I can about it."

Phoebe nodded, finding her voice not working.

"Splendid." A smile spread over his face and he brought his cup to his lips. He set it down again. "How about tonight? I'll send someone to fetch you after dinner."

Tonight? Jarl was going to-

"Good." Loki hadn't waited for her answer, which was to be expected. He was a prince and she was a serving maid. "I'll see you later tonight."

Phoebe nodded again. Of course. She had to find Jarl. She had to tell him she had to cancel tonight. Her eyes quickly scanned the table for empty cups and Jarl. Finding neither, she retreated to the kitchens. She found him leaning on a table, his next tray waiting for the next refill on food. He was inspecting his hands when he noticed her.

"Hey! What are you doing here? You don't need a refill this early, do you?" His face lit up upon seeing her.

Phoebe haphazardly set her jug down, wine almost spilling over the edge. "I can't come to the gardens with you tonight. Prince Loki has requested my presence."

Her voice was stern and the smile fell from Jarl's face. His eyes scanned her face. "Wha-what? PRINCE Loki requested you? What on Asgard does he have planned for you?"

"He wants to know more about how I got here. Apparently it fascinates him." She crossed her arms in front of her and furrowed her eyebrows. "It's so strange. He hasn't talked to me since I've gotten here."

Jarl nodded, his face still distorted in confusion. "Well . . . I guess you go tonight and answer his questions."

Phoebe played with her skirt. "I'm sorry. Maybe we can go to the gardens tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, it's fine. The gardens will still be there." He said, trying to force a smile to return to his face.

The air between them had turned awkward. Phoebe grabbed her pitcher.

"I should get back out there." She said quickly.

"Yeah . . . " Jarl said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Phoebe scurried out of the kitchens and back into the dining hall. A few nobles were waiting for her and she made her way to each of them. She tried to avoid eye contact with Loki. Why was he so interested in her story now? She'd been here for over a week. She hoped tonight wouldn't be too bad. She'd heard stories of the things Loki would do for a prank. Hopefully he didn't have some prank planned. Instead, she wanted help figuring out what exactly happened on Earth and even how she got here. She'd been a simple substitute teacher back on Earth and now there were aliens and time travel and just too much for her to handle. Phoebe sighed. She just wanted to go home.

After dinner was over, one of Loki's servants came for Phoebe in the kitchens. He led her down the labyrinth-like halls of the palace until he came to a stop at a large set of double doors, gold outlining the twisting designs carved into them. He opened one for her and light flooded into the hall. Phoebe smiled at him and stepped into the room. The door closed after her. Phoebe took a moment to take in the room in front of her. A lot of green. He had a huge four-post bed against the opposite wall with green sheets and pillows. A fireplace sat lit on the left wall. Bookshelves filled with books lined the walls. A desk sat against the right wall, with Loki sitting at it. A few books and papers were spread out in front of him. He was looking over one with a curious gaze, before he realized Phoebe was standing in the middle of his chambers, her hands clenched tightly in front of her and her posture rigid. He put it down and smiled at her.

"You came!" He said, turning fully towards her. When she didn't move from her spot, he continued, "Don't be frightened. Despite my reputation, I have no mischief planned for tonight. This has actually quite intrigued me, leaving me to put all pranks on hold for the moment. Plus figuring this all out may help me win my father's favor."

He grabbed a book from his desk and stood up, walking towards Phoebe. "Now, I know you might have recounted the story of how you arrived here dozens of times, but I need you to recite it one last time."

Phoebe nodded and searched her memory before opening her mouth.

After a couple of hours of discussing Cybermen and Daleks, the exact nature of her appearance, and trying to figure out exactly who this Doctor could be, Loki decided it was enough for the night and, after assuring Phoebe that he would make sure she got out of her early morning chores, dismissed her. They were both still completely clueless as to what the Daleks and Cybermen were, though a few rough sketches had been produced of them for future reference. Loki had discovered that a random wormhole or time vortex must have appeared next to her, perhaps caused by all of the activity from the Daleks and Cybermen, that was connected to a past Asgard and she was sucked through. However, he had no idea how to replicate it or even how to send her back to her own time, which Phoebe insisted she didn't want to go back to, so they were at a dead end there.

Phoebe wasn't even sure what she wanted. Did she really want to go back to all that death and destruction? But did she really want to stay here as a serving maid, being treated poorly and looked down upon by nearly everyone? She felt like she didn't belong anywhere. There was no happy place for her now.

She said goodnight to Loki, who responded with a genuine smile before he closed the door, and began her walk back to the maids' quarters. She paused after a few steps. Wait, was it a right or left? In fact, where in the palace was she? Darn it, don't tell her she'd be spending the rest of the night trying to find her way back. She whipped her head back and forth to the different ends of the hallway. Dammit.

"Need help getting back?" Jarl stepped around the corner and down the hall. "I had a feeling you didn't know how to get back. So I came to help you. Plus to make sure Loki didn't turn you into a frog or anything."

He held his hand out and Phoebe took it, still a bit surprised he was here. "You waited all this time for me?"

"Well . . . yeah. Someone needs to look out for you." He said, blushing and turning his gaze from her face to the floor.

Her face lifted in a smile. "Thank you. Honestly."

His eyes traveled back to her face. A smile graced his lips. "You're welcome."

He griped her hand and started tugging her down the hall. "Now let's head back. I think it's time for some well-deserved rest."

Only the sounds of their steps echoed throughout the halls. Their hands remained intertwined and Phoebe leaned her head on Jarl's shoulder, feeling happy for the first time in a long while.